Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Usually every morning besides an alarm clock I have several things waking me up. One of them is my cellphone alarm. Another is The Pratt Bunnies. Rabbits are crepuscular(active at dawn and dusk) and usually they are running up and down the stairs, the boys flirting with Baxter and Princess- or Greyton picks up and drops his metal pellet bowl to remind me that it is time for breakfast. they always make enough noise that it wakes us up.

Not today.

I woke up and realized it was 9am...The time I need to be at work.My cellphone was on silent so It didn't go off. A rain storm caused my power to go out for a bit overnight.

All the bunnies were lounging about, still half a snooze themselves. I mean usually Greyton at least is quite demanding of this morning carrot but nope there he was flopped out snoring.

Now I know that this holiday weekend coming up when I WANT to get some extra sleep, I will be rudely roused from sound slumber due to the pitter patter of little feet...and twitchy noses and bushy tails.

1. watched my latest batch of netflix picks.2. finish some artwork for the Journalcon Program.3. get on the treadmill.4. organize my phone/address book(I just bought a new one.5. respond to some e-mails6. finish the laundry7. get to sleep in late.

3. Hit in the head with a baseball bat- I was the catcher during a drunken softball game with friends. A player on the other team hit a home run and threw his bat back really hard smashing my head- concussion- glasses broken- blood- it explains why I'm like this today.

4. Big head-on collision car accident. Friend was driving. I was the passenger. No real injuries except a little shock. The cops showed up and the guy who plowed into the car was a wanted criminial and was hauled off to jail.

5. Was sitting on the couch and caught Clay Aiken on tv singing- the remote batteries died and so did I having to endure that.

6. I went to an REM concert and was practically bored to death.

7. A former roomate was president of a black fraternity. One day he brought the pledges by the house before going to an event. I was in the living room watching a documentary on early Hollywood and the minute the pledges walked in the room, the documentary was talking about The Jazz Singer and showing clips of Al Jolson in blackface singing Mammy. I think I had a heart attack.

Sunday, August 28, 2005

We drove by the place where Mrs. Pratt and I had our wedding reception. It was a beautiful mansion style restaurant.Wonderfully decorated and classy. No it wasn't a Denny's. It was called the Jefferson House, and recently the restuarant and property was sold to be torn down and made into "over 55 housing". Last week they were preparing the demolition of the building, Mrs. Pratt got a few good pics...

The former entrance to the Jefferson House.

Goodbye Jefferson House.

Today we pulled into their driveway to see that they had started to destroy the house. Our reception was on the second floor in an intimate room. Sad that it's gone now.

Jefferson House half demolished.

During a recent visit to Delaware I came across this guy. Mrs. Pratt was happy I found a new friend.Uh...that's me on the left.

Before we drove out to a local winery this morning we stopped at the diner for breakfast. in the parking lot was this license plate:I was hoping this was owned by a carload of nuns.

And finally in this potpourri of random things, a recent shopping trip reveals what else I like to eat...

Saturday, August 27, 2005

Friday, August 26, 2005

I didn't get the chance to return home to go to one of my favorite summertime activities- A visit to the Erie County Fair, but my friend Nina did. Nina and I went to high school together and hung out cracking each other up in art class. She is an accomplished artist and I think the greatest Lord of the Rings fan there is. I asked her to guest blog upon hearing that she would be back in Western New York for the Fair....

Here's Nina....

Well, last week was the wrap up for the traditional fair in Erie County…but wait what was it called? America’s Fair? In what was an attempt to distance themselves from the fiscal woes of Erie County itself, organizers renamed the annual event America’s Fair. Even newscasters got confused and kept referring to it as “The Erie County Fair.”

We piled in the car on Tuesday morning, Aug. 16 for our annual trek around the famed “Mile Long Midway.” In our party were: my 8 year old nephew Ricky, my mother Nancy, my brother Rick, and me, Nina Kempf. Admission was a mere $3 before 11 am and we just made it. The crowd was a little smaller than one would expect and newscasters did report that attendance was down this year. Our first stop was to be the 4H buildings but on our way we had to ogle the huge porker outside the next to the Swifty Swine Racing Pigs. His name was Dozer and he’s a native New Zealander (bigger than Sala Baker but not as cute). He slept through all the obvious comments about ham steaks and bacon.

In the 4H building, the chickens were nearest the door. Ricky started making a list of which kinds he liked. The “white silky” hens were quite fetching in their fuzzy finery. I also liked the pale feather-footed hen in a cage labeled “Frizzles.” Phyllis Diller would have liked the Puff Laced Polish hen that was mimicking her wild-headed look minus the cigarette holder. There were plenty of geese and ducks, including the lovely “Embden” ducks with gray bodies and black heads. But what fine foul festivities would be complete without a Rhode Island Red? I say, boy, he was nice rooster, but about as sharp as a sack of wet mice…sorry, I began to channel Foghorn Leghorn.

Now, for the best part of the building and what we all came to this blog for: The Bunnies! We had to oooh and ahhhh over the “Maternity Ward” which included 5 itsy bitsy babies compliments of a black doe from Kody Omphalis. We cooed over the adorable Mini Lop Junior by Derby Dumplings as well as the lops being shown off by North Creek Clover of Colden, New York. We also had to check out the little gray fellas that look like Yakov Smirnoff with their short ears and wooly caps called “Jersey Wooly Senior” bucks. Could they be any cuter? Nearby were some white woolies from Flopper Hoppers of Colden. One breed was called a Mini Rex, but my ultimate and all time favorite Fair hares are the long-haired, bent-eared English Angoras. Flopper Hoppers of Buffalo had the cutest one, but all the rabbits were absolutely precious. I could have taken them all home.

Our next stop was at the Great Cat Adventures, where Ricky and I posed for a photo with nine week old Molly. She was drinking out of a bottle, but she was already larger than most German Shepherd dogs! One of the adult tigers basked in the shade with his belly up like a lazy house cat. Nearby, a couple of little tigers romped and played, biting each other and growling like ordinary kittens…you can find out more about all the big cats at http://www.greatcatadventures.com/index.html. None of them looked like Nappy D’s “Liger.” Gosh! Some of the staff wore humorous black t-shirts that stated: “I didn’t claw all the way up the food chain to eat vegetables!”

We stopped to get the obligatory Erie County Fair beverage: Birch Beer (root beer’s regional seasonal cousin). For $4 we got a souvenir cup which of course I forgot to bring home! I split some French fries with Ricky, who didn’t mind that I doused them with vinegar, salt, and ketchup. Naturally, we had to make the rounds at the petting zoo, where for a mere 25 cents you can get your hand slobbered on by goats! Now that we’re all safe and politically correct, they even include a hand-washing station. Ha! When I was young, you had to carry your germs all the way to the nearest bathroom (where for 25 cents you can wash your hands while some woman you’ve never seen before in your life calls you “honey” as she tells you that stall number 6 is now open). In the bathrooms, which we do use on account of all the Birch Beer, the familiar sweet talking attendants are there. Exiting, I have to stop myself from laughing out loud. There she is, all the way from sketch tv, one of the contestants from the Lilian Vernon Catalog Quiz Show…and she’s wearing a t-shirt with a picture of a fluffy cat that reads: “Oh, the Paws-ibilities!” I knew that I had to remember HER for the blog report.

Along our way, Ricky and Grandma Nancy stop to admire the SkyHunter’s Birds of Prey. My brother and I chat with Mrs. Tucker, or as I knew her growing up “Ann Marie’s Mom.” We got a brief rest from the sun inside the conservation building, which as usual had some awesome taxidermy. There were bears, lynx, owls, squirrels, you name it, they’ve stuffed it. No more procrastination, it was finally time for the Midway. Snubbing the games, we went on some rides. Me and both generations of Rick went on the super gigantic Ferris Wheel. They could see the city of Buffalo from the top, but I was afraid to turn round. Fear of heights? What fear of heights? My mom later asked me if we could see the car where it was parked. Are you kidding me? I could barely look down. The boys went on the bumper cars and the giant swings. Ricky and I fought centrifugal force on the Himalayan who’s music is so loud it almost makes you forget that every blood cell in you body is spinning to the left. I’m a little nauseous just writing about it. We walked and walked, taking in all the smells and sights, all the folks large and small and in between. I took Ricky into the sideshow, which was unfortunately split into two separate locations. We paid a dollar to peek at the snake girl, which was the old head through the table gaffe. I meant to tell Ricky about “the gaffe” and regale him with a few sentences of cizzarnizzy tizzalk, but he was preoccupied with thoughts of winning more goldfish in one of the games. I highly recommend you rent Robert Williams in “Carny Talk.” But only the grown ups. It’s got some adult content as the famous illustrator and painter recounts his youthful adventures on the midways of America. That’s Robert Williams, famous painter, not Robin Williams, famous hirsute. Both of whom I’ve met, by the way.

We also took time to watch Jerry Ward, the chainsaw artist. We used the “footsie wootsies” which rattle every bone in your foot for 25 cents. It was nice! We also checked out more buildings, ate more junk food, and saw tractors, snowplows, hot tubs, hat-wearing cats, singing Indians, live reindeer, live bears, antique fire fighting equipment, amateur art, orchids, and guns that shoot mini-marshamallows.

We spent a total of 8 hours at the fair. Wow! Next year, we’ll do it all over again!

Yes folks, There she goes...after 84 years, The Miss America Pageant is giving Atlantic City, NJ the kiss-off and moving to parts unknown...well most likely a red state where people actually CARE about the Miss America Pageant.

But why the switch? The Blog of Pratt has the Top 12 reasons the Miss America Pageant is leaving Atlantic City...

Saturday, August 20, 2005

We decided to go visit the local chapter of the House Rabbit Society today. This was where we adopted most of our bunnies. Greyton,Princess,Twizzle,Feather and Austin all came from here. We hadn't seen our friend, the shelter director in awhile, and since the rabbit shelter is in Delaware, we got up early to take a drive down, and drop off a donation for the bunnies.

We saw many cute rabbits that need good homes but 4 is enough for us right now..I will introduce you to a few of the residents though...

Mrs. Pratt has had her car for over 10 years now. It's a 1994 black Camaro and currently has 130,000 miles on it. She named the car Jerry because in her Deadhead fandom she noticed the interior was a "Touch of Grey".

Hey don't laugh... I call my car The Prattmobile.

Mrs. Pratt told me she wants to replace faithrful Jerry with a new model.

Me:"Oooh..tall and busty will be nice and ...and ..ooooooh you're talking about cars."

Mrs. Pratt dishes out The Look of Death to me.

So last night Jerry was getting a good cleaning since he is going to be put on the market soon(Mrs. P wants $2,000 for him). She noticed that his turn signal light was out on the right hand side.

Now Mrs. Pratt is gifted with repair talents. Seriously, she can assemble IKEA furniture while I still struggle to figure out if my Ecktorp is in my Verdblat. She just has a kncak for it whereas every assembly project I try turns into a Jerry Lewis movie.

The skilled hands of Mrs. Pratt.

I walk out to the driveway as she is disassembling the car.

Me:"Can I call you Mrs. BadWrench?"

Mrs. P.: "Shut up."

Me: "Can I take your photo?"

Mrs. P.: "Do you want a screwdriver in your face?"

Me: "Think of the Blog!"

Mrs.P.:"Think of the stitches you'll need."

It was an easy bulb replacement, and I am once again in awe of her repair skills.And she was a good sport to let me take her photo.

The Look of Death. I totally deserved it.

And so Jerry will leave us soon. I think before she sells him, she'll play Neil Young's "Long May You Run" one last time for him. Although I like to sing The Dead Milkmen's "Bitchin' Camaro" whenever I ride in it.

Sunday, August 14, 2005

I started going through a bunch of my old records and 45's. Having digital music today is great and everything but I kind of miss the days of the 45 (A 7" piece of vinyl played on a turntable with a needle for all you kids out there). Like the LP,sometimes the jacket for a 45 was a piece of art.

I own hundreds of 45's since I used to be a DJ, so today I decided to share some of the examples I have of cool 45 sleeves.

David Bowie-"Modern Love".

Simply Red-"The Right Thing".

The Art of Noise- "Paranoimia".

One of my favorites is this picture disc of "House of Fun" by Madness.

ABC-"Be Near Me".

It's ironic that today we can download single songs for $1.00 but back in 1983 this cost me $1.48 at the local Ames department store.

Saturday, August 13, 2005

I'm stuck inside the house today. Mainly because of the weather. This is one of the hottest days so far in Philadelphia this year. The air conditioned house is sooo much nicer than dealing with the 105 degree heat index the weather forecasters keep droning on about.

Part of the morning was spent giving Baxter some run time with the boys in the living room. Greyton got his exercise as usual, pursuing Baxter and wanting to do the rumpypumpy mambo with her.

Baxter: The Paris Hilton of the bunny world.

Greyton: Swinging bachelor bun on the prowl.

I had an idea how to really keep cool this afternoon.

Me:(Rummaging through all our videotapes)"Hmmm It has to be around in here somewhere."

Mrs. Pratt:"What are you looking for?"

Me:"The video I shot of the blizzard last winter. Nothing like watching 2 feet of snow on a day like today."

Mrs. Pratt:"You are so weird."

Me:"...And if you'd like I could assemble the Christmas tree for you."

Friday, August 12, 2005

This old movie theater is in Mrs. Pratt's hometown. It was rundown for several decades and is now being restored. It was built in 1928. They now show art house and classic films.

We saw the Laurel and Hardy films to a packed house last night. Although Mrs. P. wasn't as enthusiastic about the films as much as I was, she still had a good time. I was delighted to see that the audience was young and old and after 75 years Stan and Ollie still had the power to make us laugh.

Thursday, August 11, 2005

There seems to be a great deal of confusion over the Rolling Stones release of the new single "Sweet Neo Con". Some critics say it's a thinly veiled rant against the President. Mick Jagger says it's all a big mistake. It's a shame to see him so apologetic.

Here at the Blog of Pratt are the Top 12 Other New Misunderstood Rolling Stones Songs...

12. 19th W.M.D. Intelligence Breakdown.

11. Sympathy for the Dubya.

10. Brown Sugar (no really..not about Condi!).

9. You Can't Always Get Bin Laden If you Want.

8. Emotional Rescue of the blonde soldier chick.

7. Hang Friendly Fire.

6. Street to Street Fightin Man.

5. Paint it Black Ops.

4. Jumping Jack Flashpoint.

3. Beast of Halliburton.

2. Waiting on a Cheney.

1. (I Can't Get No)Satisfactory timetable to pull the troops out of that mess.